With four teams still battling for a spot in the Big 12 Championship at AT&T Stadium, West Virginia remains at the top of the rankings. Here's how the rest of The Daily Texan's poll is shaping up with two weeks of the regular season remaining.
No. 1 West Virginia
The Mountaineers have really found their groove since losing to Iowa State in October. Dana Holgorsen’s squad has won three straight, including a 47-10 beat down of the TCU Horned Frogs this past weekend. Quarterback Will Grier’s mid-season struggles have subsided, and he has fully reemerged in the Heisman race.
No. 2 Oklahoma
They don’t call it Bedlam for nothing. Last weekend, Oklahoma defeated their “little brother,” 48-47, thanks to an errant throw on a two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter to win their fourth straight game against Oklahoma State. The Sooner offense shined on the ground, rushing for 353 yards and five touchdowns in the victory.
No. 3 Iowa State
A victory over Baylor extended Iowa State’s win streak to five games — the longest active streak of any Big 12 team. The Cyclone defense is allowing just 15.5 points per game over their last four conference games, an absurdly low amount considering the style of play in the Big 12. A Top 25 matchup with the Texas Longhorns in Austin is in store for the Cyclones this weekend.
No. 4 Texas
Perhaps frozen tortillas aren’t so bad after all. Sam Ehlinger and Lil’Jordan Humphrey ended the Longhorns’ two game skid with a go-ahead touchdown over the Red Raiders last Saturday. All of the praise toward the Longhorn offense should be met with an equal amount of criticism toward Todd Orlando’s defense, which was responsible for losing a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter.
No. 5 Baylor
The high of a last-second victory over Oklahoma State wore off rather quickly after a 28-14 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones this past weekend. The Bears are back to being a .500 football team, although this record would have been drooled over at this point last season. Regardless, head coach Matt Rhule has the Bears moving in the right direction.
No. 6 Oklahoma State
We knew head coach Mike Gundy was not a fan of Twitter, but we did not know he wasn’t a fan of momentum too. The Pokes have now lost two straight games since their upset of then-No. 6 Texas and have thrown away any chance of a Top 25 ranking before seasons end. Luckily for Oklahoma State, they have a chance to get back on track by hosting No. 9 West Virginia at Boone Pickens Stadium this weekend.
No. 7 Texas Tech
The ice cold feeling in Lubbock may not just be the weather, but also the feeling toward Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who ruined a 17-point comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter with a game-winning touchdown this past weekend. Texas Tech has hit a wall since starting the season off 5–2 and has now fallen in each of their last three contests.
No. 8 Kansas State
A win is a win, and for Wildcat fans, a win over your in-state rival must feel pretty sweet. But man, that was an ugly game. The first half of the Kansas-Kansas State game produced just three points and probably an even lower Nielsen rating. There is a slimmer of hope for the Wildcats to become bowl eligible, but games against Texas Tech and Iowa State will be big hurdles to overcome.
No. 9 TCU
Coming off of their worst loss of the season, the Horned Frogs should be very grateful to have Kansas in the Big 12 — or else they would be in the cellar of these power rankings. The backbone of Gary Patterson’s success at TCU has been his defense and that defense was just thrashed for 47 points by the West Virginia offense last weekend. At 4–6, the Horned Frogs must win their last two games to become bowl eligible.
No. 10 Kansas
Kansas football is back to being Kansas football after a brief period of hope and optimism. The firing of David Beatty and the rumors of Les Miles flying into Lawrence have done nothing to change the losing product on the field this season. Don’t expect things to turn around this weekend. ESPN’s Football Predictor Index is giving the Jayhawks just a 2.9 percent chance of winning against the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners.
